With COVID-19 numbers on the rise in many of Australia’s capital cities, regional parts of New South Wales are predicted to be the saving grace in restarting the Australian economy.
A new report has shown that the number of job vacancies in some regional areas is at an all-time high. In June there was a 22 percent increase in new job listings in comparison to the previous month of May, reports the Regional Australia Institute.
The figure is double those reported in capital cities, at a mere 11 percent increase since May.
It is reported that over 11,000 new jobs were advertised from regional areas in New South Wales throughout June.
The agricultural and resources sector was responsible for the rise, Chief Economist Dr Kim Houghton reported, The regional industries are the biggest driver of the National GDP.
Areas of regional NSW are reported to be thriving throughout the pandemic, due to the low number of businesses utilizing the Government’s JobKeeker program.
Rural towns including Bordertown, Cressy, Donald, Hopetoun, Moura, and Yenda are all areas where less than 50 percent of businesses are registered for JobKeeper, Dr Houghton said.
Areas across the rest of the country such as Cairns, Toowoomba, Apollo Bay, Byron Bay, and Margaret River are just some of the towns struggling with higher rates of businesses relying on JobKeeper to survive.
Alexandra Gartmann Rural Bank Chief Executive has acknowledged that locations that were more heavily reliant on industries such as tourism were those that are currently more effected by COVID-19. These areas were then more reliant on programs such as JobKeeper to stay in business until the industry starts to operate regularly again.
Accommodation and food services are reported to be the hardest hit throughout the pandemic, with 83 percent of businesses reporting significant revenue loss, she said.
In comparison industries such as agriculture, forestry, and fishing have experienced much smaller losses throughout the pandemic, at about 24 percent. The future of job growth now looks to the agriculture industry to source labour to increase the number of job listings and regional employment opportunities.
Between March and May, there have been several regional areas that have seen a substantial drop in the number of payroll jobs. These areas have historically high levels of structural unemployment as well as having a large reliance on the tourism and hospitality industries.
JobKeeper has been a lifeline for areas in south-east Tasmania and south-west Victoria where the number of payroll jobs had dropped between 9 and 10 percent, Dr Houghton commented.
The future of Australia’s regional industries will depend on a tailored winding back of Government programs such as JobKeeper. This will be the next step in a long economic recovery that assures regional towns that are hardest hit by this pandemic remain open for business.
